Research Brief 02

Why Brand Sustainability Ratings Are Not Enough

Consumers are increasingly seeking sustainable clothing, yet understanding the environmental performance of a garment remains challenging. Independent platforms such as Good On You have made sustainability information more accessible by evaluating fashion brands against environmental, labour and animal welfare criteria. These initiatives have improved transparency and encouraged brands to strengthen their sustainability commitments.

However, there is an important limitation: most existing sustainability ratings evaluate brands—not individual products.

As purchasing decisions are made one garment at a time, this distinction matters.

Brands do not manufacture identical products

A single fashion brand may produce hundreds or even thousands of products each year.

Within the same collection, garments can vary significantly in:

• fibre composition

• manufacturing location

• dyeing processes

• recycled material content

• transport distance

• expected product lifespan

For example, one T-shirt may be manufactured using conventional cotton, while another from the same brand incorporates recycled fibres, renewable energy in production and lower-impact dyeing processes.

Although these products have different environmental footprints, they are often associated with the same overall brand reputation.

This makes it difficult for consumers to compare the environmental performance of the specific item they intend to purchase.

What brand ratings do well

Brand-level assessments remain valuable.

They encourage companies to improve corporate policies, supply-chain management and public reporting. They also reward businesses that demonstrate long-term commitments to sustainability and transparency.

These ratings answer questions such as:

• Does this company publish environmental targets?

• Does it disclose information about its suppliers?

• Does it have policies addressing labour conditions?

• Does it report progress towards reducing emissions?

These are important indicators of corporate responsibility.

However, they do not necessarily answer the consumer's most immediate question:

"Is this particular garment environmentally preferable to the alternatives on the shelf?"

Product-level information supports better purchasing decisions

Around the world, policymakers are increasingly recognising the need for product-specific environmental information.

The European Union's Digital Product Passport (DPP) is one example of this shift. Developed under the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR), the DPP aims to make information about a product's origin, materials, repairability, environmental performance and circularity more transparent throughout its lifecycle. Textiles are expected to become one of the product groups progressively covered by this framework.

Rather than focusing only on the manufacturer, the Digital Product Passport is designed around the individual product itself.

Similarly, France has begun introducing a textile environmental label (often referred to as the Textile Eco-score) to help consumers compare the environmental impact of clothing before purchase. The system considers impacts across the product lifecycle—from raw material extraction and manufacturing to transport and end-of-life—and presents this information at the point of sale.

These developments suggest a broader international trend towards product-level transparency.

Why Australia should consider a product-level approach

Australia currently has no nationally recognised environmental labelling system for clothing.

Existing labels communicate important information about fibre composition and care instructions but provide little insight into environmental performance.

A future Australian Clothing Eco Rating should therefore complement—not replace—existing brand initiatives.

Brand ratings and product ratings serve different purposes:

Brand Rating	Product Rating
Evaluates company-wide policies and commitments	Evaluates the environmental performance of an individual garment
Useful for understanding corporate responsibility	Useful for comparing products before purchase
Changes relatively slowly	Can differ between products within the same brand
Encourages better business practices	Supports informed consumer choice

Together, these two approaches provide a more complete picture of sustainability.

A proposal for Australia

Clothing Eco Rating recommends that any future Australian sustainability label should focus primarily on individual products, rather than assigning a single environmental score to an entire brand.

This approach recognises that environmental impacts vary between garments, even when produced by the same company.

A product-level framework could assess factors such as:

• material selection

• manufacturing impacts

• durability

• repairability

• recycled content

• transparency of supporting data

By presenting this information through a clear and standardised rating, consumers would be better equipped to compare garments using consistent environmental criteria.

As international initiatives continue moving towards product-specific environmental information, Australia has an opportunity to develop a practical and transparent system that supports both informed purchasing decisions and continuous improvement across the fashion industry.

References

• European Commission. Digital Product Passport.

• Regulation (EU) 2024/1781 establishing a framework for ecodesign requirements for sustainable products (ESPR).

• European Parliament. Digital Product Passport for the Textile Sector (2024).

• French Ministry of the Economy. Textile Eco-score: What You Need to Know (2025).